01.11.06
By Borys Kit As a sign of further recovery of the film industry in Louisiana, a massive soundstage and media center is being built by a partnership involving real estate developer the Celtic Group, production company Nova Pictures and Raleigh Studios. The three companies are expected to announce today the creation of the Celtic Media Center. The facility is being built on 11.25 acres of land in Baton Rouge, on which a partially completed facility, abandoned by rapper Master P, already exists. The end result will be a state-of-the-art studio complex for the production and postproduction of motion pictures, videos and music. Raleigh Studios will serve as a design consultant during construction and will manage the facility after its completion, which is anticipated for third-quarter 2006. Hollywood Rentals, Raleigh's lighting company, will supply lighting and other production services to the studio as well as the surrounding areas. Louisiana-based Nova Features, run by Christopher Fink and partners Sherri McConnell and Roman Viaris, will contract exclusively with the Celtic Media Center to handle all studio aspects of the company's slate of productions. "The walls are already going up," Raleigh president Michael Moore said. "There have been so many projects announced in this area, and none of them have come to fruition. This one is different because the developer understands it. He is action-oriented. And not to toot our own horn, but we gave him the confidence to go forward." Said Fink, "Last year, Louisiana had over $400 million worth of production, and we expect (the Center) to be a substantial facility." While Nova will be based out of the complex and use it for all their films, he said there is plenty of room for other productions. "This is very scalable, so we can really scale up for big features and commercials. We will be able to suit anyone's needs," Fink said. Louisiana is excited about the prospect of bolstering its infrastructure. Last year, it introduced an infrastructure tax credit that is an adjunct to the hugely successful production tax credit. "It's very positive," said Alex Schott, executive director of the Louisiana Governor's Office of Film and Television Development. "Their intentions and their plans (are) in line with the focus of what our plans for the industry here are. We want to permanently build up that infrastructure." The postproduction aspects of the facility also will be in prime position to take advantage of the changes in the tax credit law. Since Jan. 1, only postproduction within the state can qualify for tax credits. Borys Kit writes for The Hollywood Reporter. For more news from The Hollywood Reporter, click here. |